How long do you let your beers mature?

rickcav · Post by **rickcav** » Sunday Jul 09, 2006 5:09 pm

I recently did an Czech pilsner. It was fermenting for around 2 and a half weeks and has been in bottles for around 2 weeks. I am going to try it pretty soon. Just curious, how long does everyone generally leave their beers? Ones i've made in the past and attempted to drink at the 2 week mark varied from pretty good to undrinkable.

Being that lagers generally take longer to ferment. I guess it would be possible that in comparison with an ale they would be more mature at the 2 week mark, being that they've had that extra time to ferment?

yardglass · Post by **yardglass** » Sunday Jul 09, 2006 5:36 pm

when i was bottling ( not that long ago ) i would try and let them sit for at least 6 weeks.

then i got into Partials and my brews acquired that fresh taste and i was drinking them younger, 3 - 4 weeks.

on a recent drunken sunday arv in the shed i chilled and cracked a few K&K brews that i had relegated to the bowels of the shed, a couple of these were approaching 14 months...

one out of 6 was still crap but the others were a pleasant suprise

yard

mikey · Post by **mikey** » Sunday Jul 09, 2006 6:21 pm

The general concensus is 3 months.

ACTbrewer · Post by **ACTbrewer** » Sunday Jul 09, 2006 7:16 pm

Yeah I aim for 3 months (with the odd sneaky tests here and there!) Now that I rack for anything up to 2 months with the Lagers, it can be a long time between making and drinking.

Wassa · Post by **Wassa** » Sunday Jul 09, 2006 7:31 pm

Never touch mine till they are at least 3 months old, be them Ales or Lagers.

I like the polished taste from the bottle age.

Hillbilly · Post by **Hillbilly** » Monday Jul 10, 2006 11:41 am

Most people who say there beer start to go "off" after a few months must have problems with sanitizing, the taste of the beer should only mellow a bit after time.

Chris · Post by **Chris** » Monday Jul 10, 2006 2:13 pm

I often start at a few weeks- I want to know how they turned out. I'll drink 4 or so young, then determine how long they will need to age.

Shaun · Post by **Shaun** » Saturday Jul 15, 2006 12:19 pm

ACTbrewer wrote:Yeah I aim for 3 months (with the odd sneaky tests here and there!) Now that I rack for anything up to 2 months with the Lagers, it can be a long time between making and drinking.

A good reason to go into kegs, aging happens at a much faster rate allowing you to taste the results sooner.

ACTbrewer · Post by **ACTbrewer** » Saturday Jul 15, 2006 12:22 pm

Yeah I know...I would like the advantages of kegs, but I still like having a
'library' of 8-10 styles of beer to choose from each afternoon, 8-10 kegs just isn't practical.

Chris · Post by **Chris** » Saturday Jul 15, 2006 12:37 pm

I disagree...

NRB · Post by **NRB** » Sunday Jul 16, 2006 3:12 pm

Wassa wrote:Never touch mine till they are at least 3 months old, be them Ales or Lagers.

Hillbilly wrote:Most people who say there beer start to go "off" after a few months must have problems with sanitizing, the taste of the beer should only mellow a bit after time.

I disagree. There's certain styles that are much better young in my opinion - Weizens and APAs are a couple that spring to mind.

gregb · Post by **gregb** » Monday Jul 17, 2006 4:28 am

I've had the odd bottle or two that have sat for years and still been good.

Cheers,
Greg

NRB · Post by **NRB** » Monday Jul 17, 2006 6:05 pm

I don't doubt it greg, but what I was getting at is that aging is not necessarily required and is sometimes best avoided with certain styles. Obviously a barleywine or a heavily dry hopped IPA will need time to mature and mellow.

Over time the fruity esters key to a good weizen disappear, as does the lovely hop aroma in APAs.

I'm not preaching, just giving my thoughts on the matter.

blandy · Post by **blandy** » Monday Jul 17, 2006 9:22 pm

I'll try a stubbie after a couple of weeks then guage how much longer it needs. If it's good after two weeks, I'll drink more. If not, there's plenty more under the house that is OK for drinking.

Having a lot of beer in stock is really helpful for this so you don't have to drink immature beer.

Chris · Post by **Chris** » Monday Jul 17, 2006 10:03 pm

That's about the sum of it.

Krusty · Post by **Krusty** » Monday Jul 17, 2006 10:37 pm

I will try mine after about 3 weeks minimum, and then keep trying them if they're any good.
If they're no good, I'll leave them for a bit longer.
But I try to keep about 6 longnecks out of each batch "full term" meaning nine months or so at least.
Pretty simple, really.
-Krusty

The Carbonator · Post by **The Carbonator** » Tuesday Jul 18, 2006 12:47 pm

2 or 3 weeks, for me.

I have no idea how someone can wait over 3 months to taste a brew?

doesnt the curiosity just eat you up inside?

da_damage_done · Post by **da_damage_done** » Tuesday Jul 18, 2006 4:06 pm

i find i'm leaving beers longer and longer due basically to the shear volume of beer i have to get through

chris. · Post by **chris.** » Tuesday Jul 18, 2006 7:53 pm

NRB wrote:
Wassa wrote:Never touch mine till they are at least 3 months old, be them Ales or Lagers.

Hillbilly wrote:Most people who say there beer start to go "off" after a few months must have problems with sanitizing, the taste of the beer should only mellow a bit after time.
I disagree. There's certain styles that are much better young in my opinion - Weizens and APAs are a couple that spring to mind.

I agree NRB.

3-4weeks minimum for me

gregb · Post by **gregb** » Tuesday Jul 18, 2006 7:59 pm

da_damage_done wrote:i find i'm leaving beers longer and longer due basically to the shear volume of beer i have to get through

Yeah, it's a bugger that, isn't it.

Cheers,
Greg